TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Kevin Jennings shook off a pair of interceptions to engineer No. 19 SMU's winning scoring drive, capped by Nick Reed's 20-yard field goal with 21 seconds to play, and the Mustangs escaped with a 27-24 victory over Florida State on Monday night.
Jennings completed 26 of 36 passes for 430 yards and three touchdowns as SMU won a bizarre season opener, outlasting the Seminoles (1-1) in a game that was delayed nearly two hours due to a power outage at Doak Campbell Stadium.
"It was still our first game. We were getting a feel for the little things," Jennings told ESPN's Taylor McGregor in his postgame, on-field interview. "We were trying to mix it up a little bit, show different coverages, and all that. But we executed at the end of the game. That's what mattered."
Jennings, a senior from Oak Cliff, Texas, had a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Cooper and a 10-yard touchdown pass to Randy Pittman, a Florida State transfer, to help the Mustangs rack up 585 offensive yards.
"We just stayed; we stayed going," Jennings told McGregor. "You're going to make mistakes, I mean, it's the first game of the year! So, you're going to make mistakes. You just have to learn from them and keep going."
The Mustangs flexed their offensive depth in the victory, much to the delight of Jennings. He connected with nine different receivers in the win, including Yannick Smith, who had five receptions for 107 yards and a score.
"It's easy for me, just go through my reads and find the open guy," Jennings said at the desk of the ACC Network postgame show. "Just put the ball in their hands, and know that they're going to make a play."
The Mustangs made plenty of opening-game mistakes but converted 8 of 14 third-down opportunities and had two fourth-quarter scoring drives. They could have an easier time Saturday, when they host FCS UC Davis (2-0) in their home opener in Dallas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
